Biological aging along with the subsequent process of cellular degradation or senescence clearly constitute universally occuring phenomena. At the present time aging is thought to consist of a complex series of events brought about by any number of possible cellular or molecular mechanisms. The overall objective of the present proposal is to further advance our knowledge of the basic mechanism(s) responsible for the aging process. We intend to approach this objective in the following manner: a) The nucleus of an aging research group will be constructed. The members of the research group has been chosen on the basis of their interest in the aging problem, their diversfied research interests and their willingness to cooperate in a unified approach to tis problem; b) The multicellular eukaryotic Volvox will be employed as a model system for the study of biological aging by the research group. This organism was chosen because it appears to be exceptionally well suited for such studies in that it possesses all the experimntal attributes of unicellular microaging, senescence and death; and c) We intend to characterize such diversified parameters as possible alterations in DNA metabolism, transcription, metabolic controls and organelles during aging in Volvox. In addition, we intend to determine which, if any, of these processes are important causative agents of aging and how those agents might be controlled by genetic and/or environmental factors.